Scottish Parliament

Written Answers

Wednesday 15 December 1999

Scottish Executive

Careers Service

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-1910 by Henry McLeish on 21 October 1999, what professional careers advice and counselling is available to clients with special needs in addition to the provision of information in leaflet form.

Henry McLeish: The scope and standard of service which has to be delivered to clients with special needs is outlined in the Guidance Framework for Career Service Companies issued in April 1998. In providing the service, career service companies seek to ensure that the information provided is made available in such a way which ensures clients with disabilities, especially those with learning difficulties or sensory impairments, are able to access it. The nature of each intervention will be dependent on the individual’s needs.

Disability Discrimination Act

David McLetchie (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what aspects of implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in relation to licensed taxis are devolved and how it intends to progress these matters.

Donald Dewar: Under schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998 the power to determine the technical specifications for public passenger transport vehicles, including taxis, under Part V of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, is a reserved matter.

  However the regulation making powers in section 33(2) of the 1995 Act and section 20 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (as amended by section 39 of the 1995 Act), have been executively devolved to the Scottish Ministers by the Scotland Act 1998 (Transfer of Functions to the Scottish Ministers etc,) Order 1999. Consequently regulations, for example, which will require taxis to carry wheelchairs, guide dogs etc or those outlining the circumstances where exemption from the technical specification requirements will be allowed will be subject to the approval of the Scottish Parliament.

  It is anticipated that formal consultation on the terms of the various taxi regulations will take place in the course of next year.

Education

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive to detail the number and percentage of secondary school pupils not attending school through (a) authorised absence and (b) unauthorised absence in the school years 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Data on the numbers of individual pupils not attending school through authorised or unauthorised absence is not collated nationally. The information can only be represented as an aggregated number of possible attendance.

  The annual percentage of absence in secondary schools for the years 1996-97 to 1998-99 was as follows:

  


Secondary Schools 


1996-97 
  


1997-98 
  


1998-99 
  




Authorised Absence 
  

11% 
  

10% 
  

10% 
  



Unauthorised Absence 
  

1% 
  

1% 
  

1%

Education

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive to list the categories of authorised absence currently permitted in Scottish schools.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Authorised absence is defined as:

  sickness;

  medical and dental treatment;

  bereavement;

  domestic circumstances relating to exceptional hardship at home;

  no school within walking distance and no transport arrangements;

  study leave;

  religious observance;

  family holidays where attendance is otherwise satisfactory;

  meetings prior to, and in, court;

  attendance at, or in connection with, a Children’s Hearing;

  attendance at, or in connection with, a Child Care Review;

  weddings of immediate family;

  certified debates, sports, musical or theatrical productions not arranged by, or in conjunction with, the school;

  extended visits overseas to relatives;

  sanctioned, extended absence in relation to children of travelling families.

Education

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive to detail, for each category of authorised absence, the number and percentage of secondary school pupils not attending school in 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99.

Mr Sam Galbraith: I refer the member to the answer to S1W-2882 for the number of authorised absences among secondary school pupils in 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99. More detailed information on categories of authorised absence is not collected by the Scottish Executive.

Europe

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, further to paragraph B3.30 of the Memorandum of Understanding and supplementary agreements, it will publish a list of those European Institutions which Her Majesty’s Government will consult with the Scottish Executive with regard to appointments thereto and what criteria will be applied to determine when this consultation is appropriate.

Mr Jack McConnell: With reference to paragraph B3.30 it is envisaged that the UK Government will consult with the Scottish Executive on senior appointments to the European Commission, the European Council, the European Parliament, the European Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors.

Finance

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what was the structural fund allocation to Scotland in real terms in each year since 1974 in 1998-99 prices; what percentage share of the overall UK allocation these figures represent, and what a Barnett Formula share of UK structural funds in each year would equate to.

Mr Jack McConnell: The table does not include estimates of what the Barnett formula share of UK structural funds in each year would equate to, as the formula applies to incremental changes only.

  For the period 1975 to 1988, the European Commission approved individual European Regional Development Fund projects. The value of award of these projects is recorded below.

  SCOTTISH STRUCTURAL FUNDS ALLOCATIONS

  


Year 


European Structural 
  Funds allocation to Scotland 


Share of UK Structural 
  Funds allocation 



 

Million Euro 
  


% 




1975 
  

84.469 
  

28.0 
  



1976 
  

97.892 
  

25.4 
  



1977 
  

81.888 
  

25.0 
  



1978 
  

121.258 
  

24.8 
  



1979 
  

162.009 
  

22.5 
  



1980 
  

108.767 
  

16.9 
  



1981 
  

270.632 
  

36.6 
  



1982 
  

257.470 
  

28.0 
  



1983 
  

272.722 
  

31.2 
  



1984 
  

313.990 
  

27.0 
  



1985 
  

200.990 
  

19.2 
  



1986 
  

209.368 
  

22.5 
  



1987 
  

206.862 
  

20.6 
  



1988 
  

211.941 
  

24.0 
  



  The figures for the years 1989 to 1999 reflect the programme allocation from the Commission, and they are recorded below.

  


Year 


European Structural 
  Funds allocation to Scotland 


Share of UK Structural 
  Funds allocation 



 

Million Euro 
  


% 




1989 
  

139.698 
  

23.7 
  



1990 
  

167.430 
  

12.3 
  



1991 
  

249.269 
  

14.5 
  



1992 
  

164.911 
  

8.2 
  



1993 
  

177.484 
  

9.9 
  



1994 
  

156.723 
  

7.2 
  



1995 
  

243.205 
  

10.4 
  



1996 
  

270.743 
  

11.2 
  



1997 
  

323.267 
  

13.4 
  



1998 
  

575.323 
  

23.3 
  



1999 
  

393.080 
  

15.2 
  



  Notes:

  For the period 1975 to 1989 the figures are exclusively ERDF.

  The years 1990 to 1999 include ERDF and ESF, as well as EAGGF and FIFG which are in the Objective 1 and 5b programmes.

  From 1990 to 1993, ESF was the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (formerly the Secretary of State for Employment). Before 1990 ESF was administered by the European Commission and Scottish figures are not available.

  The figures have been converted to current prices using HM Treasury deflator tables dated 22 September 1999.

Finance

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total value of council tax arrears is by local authority for each of the last three years.

Mr Jack McConnell: The information is set out in a table, which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe). I have today received the Executive Summary of the report of the Council Tax Working Group which we set up jointly with CoSLA to look at ways of improving collection levels across Scotland.

  The full report will be published next week and I will make it available to every MSP. We and CoSLA will consider its recommendations carefully. It is also an important contribution to the debate on abolition of poindings and warrant sales and I will refer it to the committees looking at these matters.

Health

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS trusts in Scotland have had enforcement orders placed on them by the Health and Safety Executive as a result of their failure to ensure that their kitchens comply with current legislative standards.

Susan Deacon: This information is not held centrally.

  It is for individual NHS Trusts to ensure that their kitchens comply with current legislative standards.

Health

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of Trust revenue spending has been devoted to the maintenance of the estate in each NHS Trust in each financial year from 1993-94 to date.

Susan Deacon: The table attached gives the percentages requested for each Trust for the period 1994-95 to 1998-99. The figures for estate maintenance are not available for the financial year 1993-94. Trust status was granted in four waves over the period 1991 to 1995, as such some Trusts did not exist in 1994-95, and no data for these Trusts is available for this period.

  The percentages have been calculated using the Operating Expenses as per the Trusts audited annual accounts, and the estate maintenance expenditure figures used in compiling the Scottish Health Service Costs Book.

  Estate Maintenance Costs as a percentage of Operating Expenditure for Trusts for the period 1994-95 to 1998-99

  


NHS Trusts 


1994-95 
  


1995-96 
  


1996-97 
  


1997-98 
  


1998-99 
  




 


% 


% 


% 


% 


% 




Aberdeen Royal Infirmary 
  

2.6 
  

2.5 
  

1.8 
  

1.7 
  

1.6 
  



Angus 
  

4.6 
  

3.7 
  

4.0 
  

3.4 
  

3.3 
  



Argyll & Bute 
  




2.6 
  

2.4 
  

2.1 
  

2.7 
  



Ayr & Arran Community 
  

3.2 
  

3.2 
  

3.5 
  

3.3 
  

4.7 
  



Borders Comm Health 
  




4.8 
  

4.2 
  

2.5 
  

4.3 
  



Borders General 
  




3.1 
  

2.0 
  

2.4 
  

2.2 
  



Caithness & Sutherland 
  

2.4 
  

2.1 
  

2.0 
  

2.4 
  

1.8 
  



Central Scotland 
  

6.4 
  

3.5 
  

3.3 
  

2.8 
  

2.5 
  



Dumfries & Galloway Acute 
  

3.9 
  

2.8 
  

2.8 
  

2.1 
  

2.1 
  



Dumfries & Galloway Community 
   
  




3.0 
  

2.1 
  

4.7 
  

3.6 
  



Dundee Healthcare 
  

5.2 
  

4.1 
  

4.2 
  

3.4 
  

3.0 
  



Dundee Teaching 
  

1.8 
  

1.4 
  

1.7 
  

1.7 
  

1.6 
  



East & Midlothian 
  

3.7 
  

3.1 
  

3.1 
  

4.0 
  

5.8 
  



Edinburgh Healthcare 
  

3.0 
  

1.8 
  

1.5 
  

1.6 
  

1.6 
  



Edinburgh Sick Children 
  

2.4 
  

1.3 
  

2.8 
  

3.3 
  

3.6 
  



Falkirk & District Royal Infirmary 
  

2.5 
  

2.3 
  

2.0 
  

1.8 
  

1.7 
  



Fife Healthcare 
  

3.3 
  

3.4 
  

2.9 
  

2.4 
  

3.3 
  



Glasgow Dental School 
  

0.0 
  

3.2 
  

2.7 
  

2.7 
  

2.7 
  



Glasgow Royal Infirmary 
  

2.9 
  

2.7 
  

2.7 
  

2.5 
  

2.3 
  



Grampian Healthcare  
  

2.8 
  

2.8 
  

2.7 
  

2.6 
  

2.8 
  



Greater Glasgow Comm & Mental 
  Health 
  

4.6 
  

3.8 
  

2.8 
  

1.7 
  

2.3 
  



Hairmyres & Stonehouse 
  

4.1 
  

4.8 
  

4.9 
  

3.7 
  

3.2 
  



Highland Communities 
  

3.8 
  

3.1 
  

3.1 
  

3.5 
  

3.1 
  



Inverclyde Royal 
  

3.4 
  

2.7 
  

2.3 
  

2.3 
  

2.0 
  



Kirkcaldy Acute 
  

2.4 
  

2.8 
  

2.5 
  

2.3 
  

2.3 
  



Lanarkshire Healthcare 
  




4.2 
  

3.6 
  

4.3 
  

3.5 
  



Law Hospital 
  

2.3 
  

2.3 
  

1.9 
  

1.9 
  

1.9 
  



Lomond Healthcare 
  




2.1 
  

2.1 
  

2.0 
  

2.5 
  



Monklands & Bellshill 
  

1.9 
  

2.2 
  

2.2 
  

2.1 
  

1.4 
  



Moray Health Services 
  

1.7 
  

1.7 
  

2.1 
  

1.8 
  

1.6 
  



North Ayrshire & Arran 
  

2.4 
  

2.4 
  

1.8 
  

1.7 
  

1.9 
  



Perth & Kinross Healthcare 
  

3.7 
  

3.1 
  

3.3 
  

2.8 
  

2.8 
  



Queen Margaret 
  

2.0 
  

2.2 
  

3.0 
  

3.1 
  

2.6 
  



Raigmore Hospital 
  

2.5 
  

2.1 
  

2.1 
  

1.7 
  

1.9 
  



Renfrewshire Healthcare 
  

4.6 
  

4.0 
  

3.0 
  

3.7 
  

3.6 
  



Royal Alexandra Hospital 
  

1.4 
  

1.4 
  

1.6 
  

2.0 
  

1.5 
  



Royal Infirmary Edinburgh 
  

2.1 
  

1.8 
  

1.9 
  

1.9 
  

1.5 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

2.7 
  

3.5 
  

2.6 
  

2.4 
  

2.4 
  



Southern General Glasgow 
  

2.1 
  

2.3 
  

2.3 
  

2.2 
  

2.4 
  



Stirling Royal Infirmary 
  

2.7 
  

1.9 
  

2.7 
  

2.7 
  

2.4 
  



Stobhill Hospital 
  

6.0 
  

5.8 
  

5.3 
  

2.6 
  

2.3 
  



Victoria Infirmary 
  

1.8 
  

2.9 
  

1.9 
  

2.5 
  

3.5 
  



West Glasgow 
  

2.7 
  

2.0 
  

2.0 
  

1.7 
  

1.3 
  



West Lothian 
  

4.5 
  

3.7 
  

3.6 
  

3.2 
  

5.4 
  



Western General 
  

2.9 
  

3.1 
  

2.6 
  

2.3 
  

4.5 
  



Yorkhill 
  

1.7 
  

1.5 
  

1.6 
  

1.4 
  

2.2 
  



Scottish Average 
  

3.1 
  

2.8 
  

2.6 
  

2.4 
  

2.6

Health

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional resources it has made available to those NHS Trusts in Scotland that have had enforcement orders placed on them by the Health and Safety Executive.

Susan Deacon: There is no requirement for NHS Trusts to inform the Health Department of any enforcement orders placed on them.

  NHS Trusts are expected to meet their statutory requirements from the annual allocation they receive.

Housing

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to investigate the cancellation of the booking by people in Drumchapel and the Campaign Against Glasgow Housing Stock of Waverley Community Neighbourhood Centre, Drumchapel for a meeting, whether any breach of the law took place and, if so, whether this is being investigated further; whether it will make representations to Glasgow City Council to request the return of the booking fee, and whether it has any plans to investigate the role of the Council in this matter.

Ms Wendy Alexander: This is not a matter for the Executive.

Justice

David McLetchie (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-2581 by Mr Jim Wallace on 30 November 1999, for each Sheriffdom, how many judgements were outstanding at the latest date for which figures are available for more than (a) three months, (b) six months and (c) 12 months from the conclusion of hearings.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information is as follows:

  


Sheriffdom 


Cases at avizandum 
  for over 




3 months 
  


6 months 
  


12 months 
  




Lothian & Borders 
  

4 
  

2 
  

0 
  



Grampian, Highlands and Islands 
  

13 
  

11 
  

7 
  



North Strathclyde 
  

2 
  

1 
  

0 
  



South Strathclyde, Dumfries and 
  Galloway 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Glasgow & Strathkelvin 
  

2 
  

2 
  

0 
  



Tayside Central & Fife 
  

1 
  

2 
  

6 
  



TOTAL 
  

22 
  

18 
  

13

Land Reform

Alex Fergusson (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the adoption of the European Convention on Human Rights will be taken into account in the drafting of land reform legislation in connection with access.

Mr Jim Wallace: All Acts of the Scottish Parliament require to be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. Full account is, therefore, being taken of the Convention in drafting the legislation to establish a Right of responsible access to the countryside.

Local Government

Mr Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to announce its proposals for distributing grant and spending guidelines to local authorities for next year.

Mr Jack McConnell: In my statement to Parliament on 8 December I set out my general approach to the local government settlement for 2000-01. I have consulted the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities about the distribution and the formula applied has been agreed with them. My detailed proposals for the allocation of Aggregate External Finance (AEF) and expenditure guidelines to local authorities are included in a Circular letter which is being sent today to all Scottish local authorities and I have arranged for copies of this to be made available to the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. These proposals will now form the basis for further consultation with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities next month, after which I intend to lay the necessary Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order in February 2000 for approval by Parliament.

Ministerial Correspondence

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-870 by Donald Dewar on 24 August 1999, whether it will provide a detailed breakdown by department of its performance to date in relation to the specified targets.

Donald Dewar: The information requested in relation to the target of 17 working days to issue replies to Ministerial correspondence for the period 1 July to 31 October 1999 is detailed in the table below.

  


Department  


Number of replies 
  issued 


% of replies 
  to MPs and MSPs issued within 17 working day target 




TOTAL  
  

2,476 
  

43 
  



Crown Office 
  

88 
  

82 
  



Development 
  

835 
  

46 
  



Education 
  

203 
  

41 
  



Enterprise & Lifelong Learning 
  

243 
  

46 
  



Health 
  

232 
  

25 
  



Justice 
  

364 
  

46 
  



Rural Affairs 
  

414 
  

43 
  



Others 
  

97 
  

55 
  



  While I am anxious to improve on these figures, current performance has to be seen in the light of the substantial increase in the overall volume of correspondence received during this period when compared with the corresponding period in 1998; and the fact that this period included the Parliamentary Recess when Ministers were sometimes unavailable to sign replies.

Prison Service

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what account it has taken of the potential requirement to move large numbers of prisoners from one prison to another in the event of a prison riot or disturbance.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Prison Service continues to have in place appropriate contingency plans.

Prison Service

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what provision it is making to ensure that more prisoners in Scottish prisons undertake rehabilitation in open prisons prior to their release.

Mr Jim Wallace: Currently, only Security Category D prisoners, those who are considered not to be a danger to the public, are given the opportunity to undertake rehabilitation in open prisons prior to their release. The Scottish Prison Service has no plans to change this criterion.

Prison Service

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to sell HMP Penninghame and HMP Dungavel further to their proposed closure.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Prison Service plans to sell HMP Penninghame and HMP Dungavel on the open market in the new year.

Prison Service

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many empty prisoners’ places are maintained in reserve to house prisoners moved from one prison to another in the event of a prison riot.

Mr Jim Wallace: A variable number depending on the Scottish Prison Service’s judgement of the likely operational need.

Prison Service

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the 374 Scottish Prison Service posts to be cut will be operational staff, such as prison officers and governors, and how many will be administration staff.

Mr Jim Wallace: Operational Staff 
  

285 
  



Non-operational Staff 
  

69 
  



Governors and Managers 
  

20

Transport

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what instructions or guidance was given to officials by any current or former Minister regarding the implementation of the decision to allow Highland Council to erect road signs in Gaelic and English.

Sarah Boyack: Highland Council wrote in December 1998 to the Scottish Office Minister for Housing, Transport and European Affairs requesting permission to erect road signs in Gaelic and English throughout its area.

  No decision had been reached on the request prior to 1 July 1999, when the Scottish Executive assumed its full powers. I considered the matter and instructed my Private Secretary to write to Highland Council indicating that I was not minded at that time to grant this permission. That letter issued on 20 August.

  Following representations from and useful discussions with Highland Council on 4 October I decided to permit the Council to erect bilingual directional traffic signs on local roads throughout its area. I wrote to the Council to that effect on 6 October.

Transport

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty's Government regarding the upgrading to full motorway status of the section of the M6/M74 corridor which is the responsibility of Her Majesty's Government.

Sarah Boyack: I met recently with the Secretary of State for Scotland and Lord Macdonald of Tradeston to emphasise the importance of this section of the route to Scotland and the north west of England. The Executive is also represented by an official on the Steering Group considering the options for improving this section of the route.

Transport

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made regarding the completion of the feasibility study into the reopening of the Waverley Line in the Scottish Borders.

Sarah Boyack: Significant progress has been made on the study. A draft final report has been submitted to the original timescale. This has been commented on by a number of key stakeholders, including the rail industry and those local authorities and enterprise companies along the course of the line. The consultants have been instructed to take full account of these comments in a revised final report that will be completed early in the New Year.